


Rewind, Replay

by MagieFish



Series: Stains [3]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: And suffering in the loop, Gen, Henry being Henry, Loss of Identity, Previous loops that occurred before the game, loops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-10-06 18:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17350349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagieFish/pseuds/MagieFish
Summary: You have so many questions. Why does everything feel so familiar? Who wrote the messages on the walls? How long until you escape the studio?These questions once had answers, if only you could rewind.(Aka. Exploring previous loops.)(Discontinued)





	1. Wolf’s Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is Boris?

Henry watched as the last Butcher Gang member fell, body folding in on it’s self like a rag doll. The angel’s voice crackled through the speakers.

_”So quiet. Like a welcoming grave. I like the silence, don’t you?”_

Henry wanted to say no, but had the feeling she would ignore his answer anyway. Climbing up the steps he listened to her deeper voice drone on.

**“Oh, I hate leaving work unfinished! Fortunately, I have you to pick up the pieces. But you'll have to go even deeper. Down, down, down, into the abyss. Take the lift down. Say hello to an old friend. Sending you a little present. A little firepower. Take good care of it. It belonged to someone very special. **"****

Henry watched as the cylinder turned to reveal a tommy gun. Henry reached out for it only to watch it disintegrate. His heart sunk and temper boiled as the She-Devil mockingly said.

**“Oops. I forgot. It’s a little hard to get a hold of. Oh well. Better luck next time.”**

Henry wanted nothing more than to slap her but figured that she was his best bet of leaving, despite how unstable she was. Henry stepped into the lift with a heavy sigh, making Boris turn his head. He gave him a weary smile as he pressed the button for Level 14. As the lift went down, Henry looked over at Boris. His snout was bouncing up and down, ears too. He was a goofy living cartoon. Henry frowned. From all he had seen so far, with Sammy and Alice and the others. He looked at Boris again. He looked as if he was 100% cartoon but he had the nagging suspicion he wasn’t. The only other cartoons he’d seen around here all looked suspiciously human, like they had been distorted and broken to take those forms but couldn’t be broken enough. He wondered if Boris had. The lift stopped, opening onto a dark dark level. Henry took a few steps forward before looking over at Boris once more. He was staring at him was those expressionless eyes. Yet, he could feel that something was thinking behind them. He turned to face him.

”Boris.”, The wolf tilted it’s head, “I want to ask you a question. See, ever since I met you, I’ve been thinking about something. You know how to play cards, but there were no instructions with you card pack. You know how to fix and build things, yet there was no one down here who could teach you those things. It’s just...Boris. Are you human?”

Boris stood up straight. His eyes focused on thin air, the same gaze as when he was looking at his clone. Henry placed a hand on his shoulder. His head turned to him once more, a strange intensity in his eyes. Henry gave him a reassuring smile.

”Don’t worry Boris, it was just a question. I mean, there’s no way you could be human. You’re a cartoon!”

Boris began to tremble, still staring straight at Henry. He let go of his shoulder.

”Boris..?”

Boris grabbed Henry and shoved him into the control panel, knocking the air from his lungs. 

“Boris.”, Henry shakily said, “What’s gotten into you?”

Boris began to signal wildly, hands moving in various directions. Henry watched as he pointed to him and then to himself, made gestures like slitting his throat and cradling something. Henry just stared in confusion despite his best efforts to understand. Boris pushed him away from the panel and pressed the button for Level 11 over and over and over again. The lift went up, Henry pressing himself as far away from Boris as possible. Had he gone insane? Is this what happened to all the other creatures here, realising some horrid truth? A swollen one disappeared as the lift came to a stop. Boris grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled him from the lift, running as fast as he could. They stopped in front of the glass, Henry trying to regain his breath. Boris reached out and picked up a recording, turning to Henry and...stopping. He stood still for a few seconds before looking around in a confused manner. He glanced at the recording in his hand and placed it back down. 

“Boris..?”, Henry hesitantly asked.

The wolf tilted it’s head. He let out a sigh of relief.

”Oh Boris, you’re alright! For a second I was worried I lost you! Go back to the lift, it’s not safe out here.”

Boris obediently left, Henry waiting until he was out of sight to investigate. He picked up the recording Boris had presented to him, pressing the play button.

** VOICE OF WALLY FRANKS **

**_I don't get it. Everyone's walking around here like grandma just died. Nothing but angry faces everywhere. These people gotta lighten up. I mean, hello! You make cartoons! Your job is to make people laugh. I'm tellin' ya. If these people don't start crackin' a smile every now and then, I'm outta here._ **

Henry frowned in confusion. Why would Boris want to show him this? He sighed. _I’ll leave that question for later when we both get out of this place._ Laying the recording on the barrel, Henry went to the lift to go down into the abyss, pushing the tape far out of his mind. After all, he had better things to do than to listen to ghosts of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *winks evilly*


	2. Wolf’s Clothing

Things feel wrong. I know that everything here is messed up and disturbing. But some thing’s stand out more than others.

I feel wrong. I’m cold, much colder than when I was outside. It’s like the cold’s inside me. **It’s like the colds inside me.** It’s nothing. This whole studio is cold. No heating. I’m fine. 

But Sammy. Or, what’s left of him. He said I looked familiar. How? He barely remembers anything and the last time he saw me was 30 years ago. He can’t remember me. Can he? I mean **he didn’t remember me before.** Before. There’s no before. I’m being silly. It’s nothing. Maybe one of the other employees just had a similar face. It’s fine.

I’m going down in the lift. I hear her, whoever she is. She says I’m interesting. Different. How am I different? Is it because I’m still human? **But she didn’t say anything like that before now.** What before. There isn’t a before. Before there was sunlight and my family. Before didn’t have her. This isn’t fine.

I’m locked up. They dragged me through the studio and threw me in a cage. They’ve deprived me of food and talk about me like I can’t hear them. But why? **This shouldn’t happen. They’re my friends.** Stop. They’re not my friends. They never were. Why am I thinking these things? Am I losing my mind? 

This looking glass. It shows me all these messages. They seem to mention before’s. They predict things. Was there really a before? Is there something I’m missing? I hear something. There’s a giant hand crushing a boat. But I don’t feel shocked. That hand...this river... **it’s all so familiar.**  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week on ‘the studio loop is awful’.


End file.
